


Layla

by Benten_Annie18



Category: The Grand Tour (TV) RPF, Top Gear (UK) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 09:22:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13831215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Benten_Annie18/pseuds/Benten_Annie18
Summary: A chance encounter, an audacious girl, an intrigued Richard and James and Jeremy cocking around...what could possibly go wrong?





	1. The Party

**Author's Note:**

> This is work of pure collaborative fiction set in an AU where Richard is not married. All real life characters mentioned are only depictions and are in no way actual portrayals of the people involved.

Pockets of people could be found across every inch of the flat, waves of laughter and constant chatter filled all the empty spaces. Jeremy always seemed to attract the most interesting and eclectic sort of company, especially on his birthday, and this year's celebration was no exception. The alcohol was flowing at a steady pace from the bar and the music periodically pierced the many conversations, the mixture causing a palpable energy amongst the party goers. 

_**  
***“I could stick around and get along with you, hello. It doesn't really mean that I'm into you, hello. You're alright but I'm here, darling, to enjoy the party. Don't get too excited 'cause that's all you get from me, hey. Yeah I think you're cute, but really you should know. I just came to say hello, hello, hello, hello.”***!** _

Richard, however, was running late, his Lotus Esprit might be a cool car, radiating major James Bond vibes but it wasn't exactly reliable. As soon as he arrived at Jeremy's flat he ran to the lavatory to wash his hands which were covered in car oil. Checking his reflection in the mirror he unzipped his leather jacket to expose a gray Henley and, despite how dark they were, brushed off some noticeable dirt from his jeans. Leaving the lavatory, he pocketed his car keys and wandered around searching for his mates, and it didn't take long for him to spot Jeremy's head looming above the crowd. He recognized Jeremy’s daughter, Emily, who was standing next to him but it was the girl, casually leaning against the wall with them who instantly grabbed his attention. 

There was a youthful, unintentional sexiness to her. Her black leather leggings were accompanied by knee high suede boots, a tee-shirt could be seen peeking out of the bottom of her black leather jacket and her brown hair fell effortlessly down past her shoulders. Her hands were in her jacket pockets and she was softly smiling at Jeremy, obviously comfortable with these two Clarkson’s, Richard wondered why he had never seen her around before. He could hear Jeremy’s voice loud and clear as he made his way towards them. He was animated, as always, and explaining why “The Dark Side of the Moon” was an utter masterpiece, informing the group of the new remastered edition he had just purchased a couple of days ago. 

_“Oh no,”_ Richard groaned as he slid into the conversation, _“Come on Mate, you’re only going to bore the young lady here to death and honestly, Prog Rock was already dreadful forty years ago so I seriously doubt that there is anything you could possibly say to make her at all interested in that garbage.”_ He finished matter of factually. 

It was at that moment he realized his attempt at an impressive first impression had gone terribly wrong. She shifted her position slightly towards him, allowing him to fully see the shirt that she was wearing. 

_“I’m sorry?”_ She replied, a sense of irritation in her voice while Richard continued to stare at her vintage Pink Floyd tee-shirt. 

The moment seemed to last forever but he finally moved his eyes off of her top and up to her dark and dangerous eyes. Her eyebrow was raised and her expression said the words she was so clearly thinking, “Who the hell is this fucking loser?!” Richard’s hand automatically moved to his forehead, his fingers rubbing against his furrowed brow. He was obviously embarrassed by his cocky statement and the fact that he had just completely stared at her chest. His tongue was sometimes quicker than his brain and it tended to get him into awkward situations. He knew that he had to pull himself together and managed to run his hand through his hair, his appearance becoming more confident and cheeky. But before Richard had the chance to respond to her, James suddenly appeared.

 _“What’s up Chaps?”_ he asked in his nonchalant manner.  
_“Nothing terribly interesting, just Hammond making a fucking fool of himself.”_ Jeremy replied, while Emily did her best to repress her giggles at her Dad’s lack of friendly compassion.  
_“Oh, I see, business as usual then.”_ James quickly concluded, placing one hand in his pocket and taking a sip from glass.

Jeremy and James could see that their friend was teetering on the edge of panic and they knew they were in for a fun night with these two when she turned her attention back to Richard. 

_“Dreadful??... And, sorry I didn’t catch your name…”_  
_“It’s Richard, Love”_ he replied, not knowing if having a name to go along with the face of an idiot was the best thing for him.  
_“So Richard, what’s your problem with Prog Rock? I mean, music taste is pretty personal, but garbage? Seriously Honey?”_ She challenged him with blatant intent. 

It was rare for Richard to be rendered speechless but his mind couldn't think of anything smart to say, he didn't want to make the hole he had dug for himself any deeper. James, fighting back laughter, placed his arm around Richard’s shoulder and gave him a slight squeeze. 

_“You have to know ma'am that the poor sod here is absolute rubbish at small talk and pretty girls--”_ he was immediately cut off by Richard throwing his hands up and slipping out of James’ grip.

 _“Oh alright, alright just shut it you lot! I need a bloody drink now…”_ he turned and started to walk to the bar, he only stopped to shout back at them, _“Oh, and by the way, Happy fucking Birthday ya big ape!”_

***

Richard had spent the last thirty minutes making his way around the party, making sure to chat with Andy and some of the other production members who the trio were lucky enough to call close friends. Richard was magnetizing when he was in company he knew, people had started to gravitate around just to watch his enthusiasm as he spoke. However, pretty soon his gin and tonic was running on empty so he found his way back to the bar. With a fresh drink in his hand he turned around and found himself in the presence of her once again, expect this time she was alone and he suddenly felt nervous. Without a word she took a small step towards him and slid his drink out of his hand. She brought it up to her lips, eyes locked on his and took a sip before placing in directly back where she found it.

 _“I'm Layla, by the way. Just thought you'd like to know the name of the girl you acted like a total dumb ass in front of.”_ She smiled, trying her best not to laugh. 

Despite his awful approach at the beginning of the night, Richard had somehow sparked her attention. His cross little face after being mocked by his friends was utterly adorable and she found herself not being able to keep her eyes off him while he was on the other side of the room, entertaining some of the party guests.

 _"I'm Richard, officially...sorry about that whole mess earlier"_ he said, still feeling a twinge of shame in his chest.

 _"I’ll tell you what, let's just forget that whole conversation ever happened and start over.”_ She shrugged her shoulders as an amused smile spread across her face while extending her hand out towards him. 

Gladly accepting the second chance that she was giving him, he placed his hand in her’s. 

_"I’m Richard. Full time car journalist and part time village idiot.”_ He replied with a friendly shake and charming smile. 

_"Layla. Full time travel writer with just me and my motorcycle. It’s nice to meet you, Richard...”_ She quickly realized that something she said had sparked his interest because his demeanor finally seemed to relax around her.

 _"A Biker? Really? I own quite a big collection of motorcycles myself. I’ve got a Vincent Black Shadow, it’s pretty rare you know…”_ he said, casually placing his hand in his jean pocket, his thumb sliding through his front belt loop. 

_"Yeah, I know it is, I actually had one too but I sold it just a few months ago.”_ She replied while leaning across the bar and grabbed the closest bottle of beer. 

_"I guess you probably had some trouble starting it then? It's not properly a girl's bike so they can be a bit tricky...”_ He trailed off, clearly not sure where he was going with that remark. 

_"What...?”_ Layla questioned but, unfortunately Richard hopelessly continued on. 

_"Right...so um... yeah, I can fly a helicopter...”_ He awkwardly muttered, becoming much more fidgety with the tiny straw in his drink as the music floating above them uncomfortably urged him on. 

_*****“I loved you then and I love you now, oh yeah, don't take me tongue tied don't wave no goodbye”***!** _

Layla had started to regret conversing with him again, James was definitely right, Richard was pretty awful at small talk. He spent the next five minutes rambling on and on about his helicopter, it’s range of flight and how he cared for it when he wasn't zipping about the country in it. She took a long sip of her beer and leaned against the bar, trying not to show how unimpressed she was by nodding and smiling every so often. Little did Richard know that Jeremy and James had been watching the whole scene unfold, doubling over with laughter at his complete failure. 

_“Rubbish....I mean, he’s utterly pathetic. I almost feel embarrassed for him.”_ Jeremy finally managed to say.

 _“God I know, but it’s all rather funny isn’t it?”_ which only caused the two to crumble back into another fit of laughter. 

_“Look at him! The poor girl is bored to absolute death!”_

_“I’m actually surprised to be honest, he usually pulls girls so easily. He’s got that “Hammond Hook-up” technique that they can’t resist.”_ James sarcastically jested with air quotes.

_“Well, he finally got himself a difficult target and you know what? I think that we should help the poor bastard out…”_

_“So we’re going to embarrass him even more then?”_ James asked, picking up on what Jeremy was hinting at. 

_“Yes we are.” Jeremy nodded, “and I’ve got the perfect idea…”_ He began to walk towards the train wreck happening in the kitchen and James quickly followed him, trying to regain his composure, but never able to lose his smile at the thought of what Jeremy might have in mind. 

_“Wow. So if this is what’s it’s like when you two are just talking with each other, I can only imagine what the sex would be like…”_ Jeremy pointed out, sounding as apathetic as possible. Richard slowly turned towards Jeremy and James, a subtle look of hatred darting from his eyes. 

_“Anyway...James and I have got a game we want to play and you two can’t say no because it’s my birthday and I said so.”_ Jeremy playful whined, taking Layla by the elbow and directing them to the sofa in the sitting room. 

James took it upon himself to entice more people to join them amongst the various pieces of furniture, and took a seat on the arm of the sofa next to Richard once everyone had settled in. After clearing his throat to draw the attention to him, Jeremy announced that they would be taking part in a game of ‘Truth or Dare’. Everyone seemed to be playing it safe during the first round, choosing Truth each time and Richard was no different when it finally came to him. 

_“Richard, what’s the weirdest place that you’ve had sex?”_ A bloke from the office asked after a moment of pondering. 

A smile broke across his face and his head rolled back into an eased chuckle. He began to recount a story from his teenage years when he attended a music festival with his then girlfriend. The band was terrible live and the set was so boring that they sat down in the middle of the crowd and enjoyed a good quick ride right there in the grass and dirt. 

_“Wait, now Rich, come on! That story’s so old.”_ Jeremy exclaimed with James nodding his head in agreement. 

_“Hammond, almost everyone here knows that one, you’ve only told it like a million times. Give us something else…”_

Richard ruffled his hair and tried his best to argue that he already answered and that he couldn’t just change his reply because they didn’t like what he had said. However, after a few more moments of Jeremy pulling his sad, “but it’s my birthday” face, Richard agreed to share another story. 

_“Right, ok...here’s one for you then. A few months back, in a phone box right after that meeting we had downtown. Yup, the only calls she was making was for more. Still not quite sure how we got away with that, but there you go.”_ The consensus on people’s faces was nothing short of impressed, fits of sly laughter echoing among them as the game moved on to another victim. 

Richard seemed to finally be back in control of the evening, working a crowd and storytelling was is speciality, his confidence now drowning out the uncomfortable start of his night. Layla had instantly noticed the cocky switch in his attitude, there was something curiously charming to him even though their encounters had ended up being less than desirable. Eventually it was Richard’s turn to ask the birthday boy “Truth or Dare” and he was thinking that this was the perfect chance for a bit of revenge. He leaned forward on the couch, elbows on his knees and his fingers playing with his lips which curved into an evil smile. Andy, however, who had been unusually quiet the whole time, had beaten Richard to it and as he raised his hand he stifled back a laugh.

_"Ever since we’ve know James and Richard, so you know, the last sixteen years, there has been one question in particular that pops into my mind from time to time and well, it's time to sort it out mate…”_

Jeremy sat up on the edge of his armchair, a puzzled expression on his face, he and Andy had been friends for basically ever so there were no secrets left between them. Jeremy knew that this pause was on purpose and it was driving him absolutely mad with curiosity.

_“Alright, ready? Here it goes….gun to ya head, who would you want for a wild night of sex….Hammond or May? "_

Richard, having been caught completely off guard by the direction the question went, sputtered so hard into his drink that he almost choked. Layla began to pat vigorously him on his back, laughing with the others as he set his drink down and muttered and "Oh goddddd..." burying his face in his hands. The crowd erupted into an unanimous fit of laughter at how uncomfortable all three men had become. 

_"In the name of all that is holy, man..."_ Jeremy sighed, leaning back down in his chair, snickering uncontrollably while Andy shrugged with an innocent smile and waited for his answer.

 _"No, no. I don't wanna know mate...it will haunt me in my sleep...a bloody nightmare...ughhh..."_ Richard whined, shaking his hands dramatically which only caused another round of laughter from the guests in on the conversation. 

_"I would choose you Richard, without a doubt..."_ Jeremy said suavely, leaving Richard completely baffled and wide eyed.

 _"Wait...what?!"_ Richard managed to squeak out in revulsion.

 _"What can I say? James, he’s just an old spaniel…”_ Jeremy continued on, getting up from the chair and slowly walked towards Richard, _“you are much more fit, more energetic...:”_ Richard had now pushed James in front of him and was trying to use him as a shield from Jeremy. 

 

 _"Stop it! For crying out loud! Take the bloody spaniel!"_

_"Oh come on Richie, I'll be gentle with you..."_ Jeremy stretched an arm out to playfully touch Richard's cheek and pulling a ‘please love me’ face. 

_"For God's sake Clarkson!”_ Richard snorted through hysterical laughter at the sight of his friend desperately coming on to him. 

_"Hang on a minute...are you serious man?”“Why yes James. We all know your are the brains, I’m clearly the brawn, and little Hammo over here is the beauty….”_ Among laughter and actual debate the trio found themselves spiraling down a hypothetical rabbit hole of who would be the best lay for who. 

Layla was genuinely having fun witnessing three straight men argue about a night of sex with each other. She found herself not being able to take her eyes off of Richard, his smile and the way he composed himself when he laughed was so intriguing, his flustered, nervous energy also had its appeal. As the boy’s argument finally came to an end, they all went back to the game and soon it was Layla’s turn to play. She was asked , ‘Truth or Dare’ and, deciding to stick with what everyone else had said, went with ‘Truth’. 

_“How old were you when you lost your virginity?”_ Emily asked, turning towards her friend. Layla didn’t answer right away but, picking at the end of her nail, she quickly dismissed the question.

_“The thing is, my answer is just so boring, no one wants to hear that, so I think I am going to pick ‘Dare’ instead, you know, mix things up a bit, make this party even more fun!”_

Everyone seemed a little shocked by her statement, seeing as most people there did not know her at all and she was about to risk a dare in front of strangers. Richard, however, found himself getting rather nervous especially after glancing over at James and Jeremy who were consulting with each other in hushed tones. He could see the gears begin to turn in their mind’s, the corner of their lips twitching slightly upwards into smiles. The pair turned back to the group and stared directly at Layla, though it appeared they were looking at both her and Richard. Jeremy was the first to speak which only made Richard more nervous. 

_“Alright, you asked for it girlie.. .For the sake of humanity but more importantly, our own personal sanity, we dare you and Richard Hammond to a riveting game of 7 minutes in Heaven. We shall lock you in that closet over there and leave you to it because James and I can’t stand watching all the unimpressive flirting and glances between you both.”_

_“It’s become quite incommodious and it’s gotten really bad as the night has progressed. So please, just go figure it out in there so that we can all stand to be in the same room with you”_ James added. He had that gleam on his face when he knew he was correct about something. 

_“Up, up, up you two”_ Jeremy urged, walking around the coffee table with James at his heels. 

He grabbed Layla and Richard’s wrists, directing them up off the couch and shuffled them towards the front hallway where a tiny coat closet was located. Neither of them had managed to say a word, not that Richard would have known what to say, he clearly wasn’t the master of words when he was around this girl. Layla was also having trouble with getting her thoughts out, what could she really say or do though? She had asked for a ‘Dare’, and this was a pretty big one. Within moments they had reached their destination and were soon engulfed by the darkness of the space. 

_“Bye bye kiddies, have fun, make us proud.”_ And just like that they closed the door, trapping all the tension in around them.

There was barely a foot of space surrounding them, both muttering ‘oh sorry, my bad’ as they attempted to comfortably position themselves amongst the coats which only left several inches between their bodies. Layla couldn’t help but let out a little laugh, explaining to Richard that she hadn’t done this sort of thing since high school…

It must have only been a moment or two but the silence felt like an eternity to Richard. He knew that he needed to break the ice, get a conversation going and hopefully the third time would be the charm. 

_“So out there, your ‘Truth’ question...how old were you then?”_ he asked, a hint of innocent curiosity in his voice. 

_“Nope, nice try mister, but I’m not going to tell you.”_

_“Oh come on, it’s just us in here, no one will ever know…”_

Layla shook her head in protest, the action caused her to slightly lose her balance on the pair of shoes at her feet. Richard reached out for her waist in order to steady her, one hand lingered tentatively and they both glanced up at each other, hardly able to see in the dark, but sensing how close they really where to each other.

 _“Fine,”_ she muttered, _“I was twenty…”_

_“So basically yesterday?”_ he chuckled and moved his hand off of her hip. 

_“Oh ok, Rude! How old do you think I am? And, by the way, if you think I’m that young then why on Earth would you hit on me?!”_

_“What! If anything you hit on me, you found me at the bar and did that little thing with my drink. You wanted to talk to me if I remember correctly...”_

_“Ok maybe, but god damn, all those dreadful attempts to impress me, remember those? ‘Oh I have a super rare motorcycle and look at me, I have a helicopter license’….seriously, come on.”_

_“Yes, I’ll admit that was not my finest work,”_ Richard said and suddenly leaned all the way forwards, his lips practically touching her ear, _“but what can I say...I tend to get nervous with girls as dangerously charming as you…”_ As his words poured down her skin she felt her face flush with emotion and she was very grateful it was too dark for Richard to notice. 

_“So that’s why you are so rubbish with me then?”_ She questioned, feeling rather flattered.

A sheepish grin settled on his face and he nodded while running a hand through his hair. He shifted his weight and leaned back on the wall, which left a little space between his feet. Layla inched her way between them, their bodies were so close now that they could both feel the heat radiating on each other’s skin. 

_“Well...just don’t talk about helicopters again or I swear to god I’ll…”_ she said, and rolled her eyes in exasperation.

 _“...or you’ll what?”_ Richard whispered and gently tugged on the edge of her tee shirt, pulling her softly against him. 

_“I’ll just have to find a way to shut you up.”_ She said, biting her lip and slowly moving her leg so she deliberately brushed up and down on his zipper. 

_“Oh...well, I did forget to tell you my helico---”_ Richard began to tease her but was never able to finish because Layla’s lips had quickly cut him off. 

He inhaled deeply and wrapped his arms around her waist and held her firmly against his body. As she tugged on his lips with her own, Layla felt Richard’s mouth slowly curve up into a smirk. He must have felt accomplished at the fact that he finally seemed to have gotten something right. Her hands worked their way up the soft fabric of his shirt and up around the back of his neck, her fingers playing with tufts of his hair as they developed an increasing rhythm with their lips. Richard impatiently deepened the kiss as Layla’s intoxicating scent, a soft touch of tobacco and a hint of cinnamon, was beginning to drive him crazy. 

There was something about the darkness and the confined space that had heighten their senses, Richard strengthened his movements against her and pushed her against the opposite wall. The intensity of his action caused their kiss to break, however, Richard, not missing a beat, immediately found his way over to her neck, his beard causing an extremely pleasant sensation to trickle across her skin. She let out a quite breathy moan and tucked her hands on his jawline, dragging him back up to her lips. He tasted exactly like black licorice with a sweet after taste of bergamot and she was addicted. Despite the fact that their bodies were tightly entwined, the urge to be even closer to each other was quickly taking over. Richard’s hands made their way down her hips and around to her ass as she shifted one leg to the other side of his. Layla let out a muffled moan and slowly began to grind against him, he followed her lead and relished in the pleasurable friction. 

Richard was starting to lose control, engulfed by her delicate moans, the taste of her lips, peaches and honey, he was getting so turned on, their tongues wildly exploring each other’s mouths. Layla needed to feel his skin on hers so this time she began to pursue what was underneath his shirt making sure to focus right above the waistline of his jeans. The touch of her fingertips only contributed to his rapid undoing. He had braced one knee on the wall, bent his leg slightly and, still cupping her ass, pulled her up onto his crotch. The tension his his jeans had grown to an obvious state and Layla began to use it to their advantage, hips gyrating against the hard roughness. 

The sudden increase of commotion soon resulted in one of Jeremy’s heavy coats toppling from its hanger and onto the both of them, breaking their concentration. 

_“Son of a bitch…”_ Richard muttered, flinging it to the ground and turning his attention back on Layla who had somehow managed to unbuckle the clasp of his belt. Her deliberate maneuver caused a surge of animalistic energy to course through his veins. A low growl escaped his throat as he once again pushed her against the wall and pinned her arms above her head. Richard couldn't stop kissing her, it had been a while since he had such a desire to experience someone in this way and Layla was doing everything she could to keep up with him. 

_“Ok...you are so….much better...at this then...you are at talking…”_ her words tumbled out in a breathless staccato only being able to speak when he stopped to re position his lips on hers. 

_“Trust me sweetheart, you haven't seen anything yet…”_ his breath hot and hoarse against her neck causing her to shudder a moan as he determinedly sucked the sensitive skin below her ear. 

_“Fuck. You’re so bloody gorgeous...I--”_ Layla grabbed the collar of his jacket and hushed him in the only way that seemed to work, taking particular care of his lower lip. 

Completely under her spell, Richard moved his hand under her shirt, savouring the soft curves of her body on his way up to her bra. As his hand cupped around her Layla whimpered, his fingers tantalizing any exposed skin and his hardness rubbing dangerously through her thin leggings. He was definitely confident with what he was doing and she felt herself wanting to succumb to his energy as she began to play with his zipper. 

Fate, however, had other plans. It might have been the insistent rattle of the door or Jeremy’s obnoxious voice bellowing “TWO MINUTES LEFT!!” that brought them back to reality, reminding them they were in a closet at a birthday party. They frantically attempted to put themselves back together, realizing just how far they had gotten lost in the moment. They left the closet just as awkwardly as they had entered, forgetting they still had time to compose themselves and tumbled out of the space, shoes and hats spilling out with them. Richard caught Layla before they both hit the floor, she scooped up Jeremy’s Butch Cassidy cowboy hat and placed it on top of her head, tucking and smoothing out her hair as she did. She gave Richard a tiny bow then and turned to the little gathering that had formed out of curiosity in front the closet.

 _“That’s all I got folks! Thank you, and goodnight!”_ She smiled and tossed the hat and a wink at Richard, gave Emily a quick hug and made her way to the foyer. And just like that, as quickly as she had appeared before his eyes, she disappeared out the front door and back to the real world.

Her exit was perfectly suited for her, witty and mysterious, leaving the immediate crowd chuckling as they dispersed back into the festivities. Richard, who was still wrapping his mind around the last seven minutes of his life, now found himself alone and at the mercy of Jeremy and James. 

_“So I’m guessing five minutes was apparently all you needed Rich?”_ James remarked, breaking the silence and pointing to Richard’s jeans, the tightness slowly coming down and his belt and zipper clearly undone. 

_“What?...”_ Richard trailed off, looking down and fixing himself, still lost in thought. Layla was a mystery to him, he normally had women falling at his feet, hanging on every word he said, but not her. She was different. She knew how to keep him intrigued, keep the chase going. 

_“So?!..What’d you do in there? hmmm?”_ Jeremy poked at Richard, giving him a sly smile. 

_“Yeah, you’re a right mess”_ James added, pointing to Richard's swollen lips and reaching out to pat his hair down. 

_“Oh come off it, nothing happened ya pervs, we just talked… and then you’re stupid fucking coat fell on me mate.”_ He stated to his friends who were looking less the convinced. 

_“Did it give you a hand job on it’s way down?”_ James inquired as Jeremy piped in, adding to his thought.  
_“Yeah, there is no bloody way that you two just talked in there, not based on that boner...”_

Richard was not in right mindset to deal with Jeremy and James badgering him for information about him and Layla. He stuck to his story that nothing had happened between them and told them to drop the subject. He wished Jeremy a happy birthday once more and told them he had an early morning the next day, hoping this would allow him to escape their questions as he placed his hand in his pocket and felt for his car keys.

It might have been a dare that brought them together but the truth was Richard desperately needed to see her again. 

_*****”Layla, you've got me on my knees. Layla, I'm begging, darling please. Layla, darling won't you ease my worried mind.”***!** _


	2. The Pub

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is work of pure collaborative fiction set in an AU where Richard is not married. All real life characters mentioned are only depictions and are in no way actual portrayals of the people involved.

_**♪ ♫“Oh, every time you cross my mind I get stupid, don't overthink it just finish up your drink And surround me, surround me, the night ain't over we're far from being sober, surround me surround me, 'cause I like you, I like you, I like you a lot, how to see through the smoke I don't know how you found me, you found me, the night ain't over we're far from being sober surround me, surround me”♪ ♫** _

The sun could barely been seen through the dismal gray clouds outside his office window and the constant hum of cars and buses on the street below only added to his lack of concentration. Richard placed his cup of coffee down on the windowsill and pulled his gaze back over to his laptop clearly still lost in thought. He removed his glasses and sat back down at his desk, lightly nibbling on them as he continued reading through a set of articles he had found on her blog. Layla’s effect on him still lingered, even six days after Jeremy’s party. She was a brilliant writer with an amazing ability to transport him right where she was, almost as if he were on the bike there with her. He didn’t know why he was torturing himself like this, the events of that night were stuck effortlessly in his mind and had slowly been finding their way into his daily routines and looking through her posts was seriously not helping his situation.

Jeremy and James had been strangely considerate of his wish to not talk about what happened even though Richard could tell they noticed how distracted he had become at work. He was halfway through reading about the week she spent in Bolivia and Chile, quietly chuckling and finding himself being able to relate to her encounter with the Atacama Desert. He was so emerged with her story that he hadn’t noticed when Jeremy entered the room, slamming his laptop shut as Jeremy cleared his throat to announce his presence.

_“That wasn’t suspicious at all, Mate. Don’t make us put the Wanking Department sign back up on the door.”_ He stated while Richard put his glasses back on to look at the layout for the following week in Jeremy’s hands.

As the two of them went over the schedule Richard realized he had completely forgotten about the road test he was filming in two days. With a loud “Fuck”, he fell back into his chair and frantically began to write notes down for the research and production teams. Jeremy rubbed both sides of his temple, looking rather exasperated with Richard’s befuddled behavior. 

_“Ok, that’s it,”_ Jeremy looked directly at Richard, _“I’m saying this to you not only as a friend, but as a concerned citizen who you may accidentally run over...but good god man, if Layla is the reason you have been so distracted lately, you seriously need to get over it.”_ He finished, taking his glasses off and crossing his arms in front of his chest. 

_“Jeremy, I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’ve been acting totally normal---”_ he was a little irritated at his friend’s bluntness on the matter.

James, who always seemed to sense exactly when he was needed as conversational support, suddenly appear in the doorway, hands in his pockets and rocking back and forth on his feet. 

_“Oh good, you’re informing Hammond on how much of a distracted Pillock he’s been lately.”_ He said, genuinely voicing his statement as fact. 

_“James and I have been very good at not mentioning it but it was just a fling with her right?...A hot and heavy snog in the dark, nothing more?”_

Richard opened his mouth but he wasn’t able to form any words, he honestly didn’t know but he secretly hoped it wasn’t just that. He was only able to shrug his shoulders much to the disappointment of his friends. 

_“Ugh, ok. We get it, she is beautiful and interesting, which only makes us wonder, what on earth makes you think that you have a shot in hell with a girl like her?”_

_“Oh I don’t know, alright! She seemed to be into it...and I just...I thought we eventually hit it off...and she, you know….undid my belt…and the little wink...”_ Richard was getting flustered, tripping over his words and turning a bit pink from embarrassment at trying to justify his feelings to Jeremy and James. 

_“Yup. He’s totally gone on her, look at his little face when we talk about her, he can't even form a proper sentence!”_ Jeremy laughed and pointed a finger at Richard, only causing the shade of pink to deepen.

_“If you think about it, it does make sense though. Of course he would go for the hot, young, American model.”_ James added, his hand stroking his chin as if he were piecing together a math problem.

_“What are you on about?”_ Richard questioned, not really wanting to know the answer. 

_“It was only a matter of time before your lady choices matched the cultural lifestyle you so desperately desire..you are really quite predictable.”_ Jeremy concluded after he realized what James had meant. 

_“No, well, you see, she mentioned,”_ he said in rebuttal pointing over to his laptop, referring to an article, _“that her mother is from Italy, so she’s not just American, she is half Italian...making your logic flawed.”_ He finished, looking rather pleased with himself. 

_“Richard, your favorite food in the whole world is Spaghetti Bolognese….”_

_“...dammit…”_ he defeatedly whispered under his breath.

_“See. Boring and predictable. You found yourself a Hot Rod girl who will make you the only thing you’ll ever want to eat, so you’re basically set for life mate.”_

_“It’s just such a shame you are too old for her and could possibly pass as her dad…”_ Jeremy muttered as they left the room, leaving him alone with that thought. 

He had never stopped to actually think about that fact. He hadn't ever really considered his appearance, in terms of age, since he was so accustomed to being the youngest of the bunch. But now, thanks to Jeremy, he had suddenly been shoved into the deep end of the age pool and it was now eating away at his stressful afternoon. By three o'clock he knew that in order to get his work life back in order he would need to talk to her. 

***

 

Richard wasn’t the only one who couldn’t stop thinking about what had occured at the party. Layla’s thoughts had also be constantly sprinkled with memories from inside the closet, his scent and those lips. After she has left that night she had received a bombardment of texts from Emily desperately wanting all the details, but she found herself not wanting to admit to anything. She felt an odd mixture of shame and giddiness at the fact that she had let herself go completely with a stranger, who, in theory, was old enough to be her father. Layla simply informed Emily that nothing had happened, explaining that while Richard was a handsome bloke for sure, he was just a bit too old for her. She didn’t feel like she needed to explain herself to others, not even to her best friend.

She was in the middle of working on a post, sipping her coffee and distractedly chewing on the end of her pen trying her best to focus on the task at hand. By three in the afternoon she was two cups of coffee in and needed a cigarette break badly, stepping out onto her terrace and into the pleasant April breeze. She had only been relaxing for a few minutes when she received a notification on her phone, informing her about a new comment on one of her blog posts. It was one of her older articles, from a couple of month back when she has traveled through South America with some friends, camping in its deserts and jungles. She was surprised that someone had found it buried in all her other updates and was curious as to what it said, putting her cigarette out and heading back inside to her laptop to find out. 

_**“Lovely read, thoroughly enjoyed. My only advice for next time...bring a machete AND a chainsaw.”**_  
_**-Your Friendly Neighborhood Helicopter Enthusiast**_

She didn’t know why but her heart instantly fluttered up into her throat. It couldn’t be just coincidence. It had to have been from him, the one person who hadn’t left her thoughts all week,the one person who she secretly wished would somehow find her. She regained her composure,and replied to her mysterious commenter. 

_**“Solid advice, Helicopter Enthusiast. Anything else you dare me to try? For next time?”** _  
_**-Layla** _

She didn’t have to wait long before a new comment was left and she was not sure why she felt like a silly schoolgirl with a crush.

_**“Well, truth is, you haven’t properly lived until you take the scenic route, Yungas Road…give it a quick Google, it's to die for...”** _  
_**-Enthusiast (with a Helicopter License)** _

At this point she was pretty darn certain that it was Richard and she suddenly realized that her blog, how she made her living, was not the best place to strike up a potentially flirty conversation. She managed to stop the lighthearted laughter that she had been experiencing since reading his first comment and decided to call Emily. 

_“Hey Em, so, no questions or comments and I promise I will fill you in later but I need Richard’s number.”_

_‘Yeah you’d better Layla….You know, I keep his number for emergencies only, but something tells me this is a rather big emergency....so...”_ She chuckled as she located his number and read it off to Layla. 

Richard now found himself struggling to concentrate but for a different reason then before. He kept refreshing the page, hoping to see another reply from Layla. Maybe is last comment was really lame, he was trying to be funny, but sometimes that only ended up working against him. He was getting flustered and uncomfortable as the minutes ticked by with no response. He couldn’t have possibly cocked it up again? He felt as if he was a bit too old for these feelings, he was stuck on this intense roller coaster of emotions, excited and pleased but then immediately anxious and unsure. Maybe Jeremy and James were right, Layla was just too young, she was from a different world and perhaps too much for him to handle. Their brief conversation moments ago was the only bit of hope that he was holding onto. His thought was suddenly interrupted by the shrill ring and vibration of his phone on the glass of his desk. He glanced down and let out a slight huff when he saw “unknown” caller displayed across the screen. 

_“Look, if you’re going to try and sell me something I am just going to let you know that I am not at all interested.”_ He spoke directly, figuring that it was some Telemarketer trying to get him to sign up for a service. He literally jumped up out of his chair when he heard the voice on the other end. 

_“Well I was just going to try and sell you on the idea of a pint tomorrow afternoon, but if you aren’t at all interest I could take my business elsewhere....I hear the fellas down at the BBC are a particularly thirsty bunch.”_

_“No! No, no God no, I’m sorry! Layla? Hi, the Village Idiot strikes again.”_ He apologetically stammered, a stupid smile spread across his face as he listened to her soft laughter pouring out of the earpiece.

It didn’t really surprise him that she had managed to obtain his phone number and he was glad that no one was around to see him in such a bewildered mood as excitement flowed through his veins. He was not very good at words when she was around so he knew that he had to be careful, he didn’t want to turn this encounter into a bloody mess too.

_“Ummm let me check though, Sweetheart. I do have a busy schedule….”_ he unfortunately replied, instantly cringing at the fact that it came out way more cocky then he had intended. 

Layla was starting to get a better understanding of him and remembered very clearly he stated that she made him nervous. It was utterly charming. 

_“Five O'clock, The Bell pub, over near Spitalfields.”_ She simply said with a smile, hoping that this would help end the phone call before he had the chance to say anything else stupid. 

The following day Richard had to do is absolute best to act normal around Jeremy and James. They knew him so well it was very easy for them to know when he was acting odd and the fact that he was meeting up with Layla in a few hours was something that he was not really in the mood to discuss with them. He was nervous and felt that the anticipation might actually kill him. Layla had made the first move twice which he didn't mind, it left him intrigued to be honest, but he just hoped that he would be able to pull the smooth and confident Richard out for the evening instead of the bumbling fool. He was worried that the latter was making too many appearances and to top it all off, the words of his overly sympathetic colleagues about his age had been bugging him all day long.

***

The Bell was an old pub, dark wood was present throughout every inch accompanied by warm lights and comfortable, well used couches.Victorian trinkets and artwork were displayed around the furniture or hung up on the walls. Since moving to London, almost a year ago, it had quickly become one of Layla’s favorite places, she often grabbed a pint and worked on her blog. She waited outside, leaning against one of the sturdy beams framing the front door and watched the reflections of the cars and pedestrians ripple by in the large window, looking for one in particular. Richard had simply texted her, “I’ll be there” after their phone call had ended the afternoon before. 

She had arrived there early and was now regretting it due to an overwhelming amount of nerves that were pinching their way through her stomach. Yes, he was much older then the men she had been with in the past and she was slightly upset with herself for her overthinking the whole thing. His enthusiasm and charm where ageless and certainly hard to ignore, she told herself that at this moment that was the only thing that mattered. She brought a cigarette up to her lips, hoping to release this rarely felt tension she was in the middle of experiencing. She had felt a primal attraction to Richard from the words he had whispered to her in the darkness, “Trust me sweetheart...you haven’t seen anything yet.” his insatiable kisses, the sound of his hoarse voice, his hot breath on her neck, the thought alone sent her into shivers whenever it crossed her mind. That, mixed with the story he had told about his quick and fast encounter in that phonebox...she could only wonder what this man was capable of…

_“So sorry I’m late!”_ His voice and the sight of him quickly walking up towards her interrupted her thoughts. 

He was dressed in a denim button down which he had casually left open, exposing a light gray fitted t-shirt and gray jeans. He held his motorcycle helmet in one hand and frantically used the other to fix his hair, his aviators mirroring the slowly setting sun. Layla looked at him in astonishment for a moment and then let out a small giggle at the sight of his clean shaven face, covering her smile up with one of her hands. Their brief mention of the gap in the ages must have hit him hard and this was probably his way of attempting to appear younger to her. At first she was a bit disappointed by it, she had good memories of of how sensational his bread had been on her skin, tickling and teasing her. However, now she was left with a curious idea as to how soft and smooth his lips and face would be…

_“Oh, no worries! How are you?”_

_“I’m alright darling, and you?”_

_“In need of a drink and some good company.”_

_“Well I hope I can help you out with both of those.”_

As the two of them walked into the pub, the owner, a man in his late thirties, happily shouted and gave Layla a warm welcome, hugging her tightly. They chatted for a few moments, his hand on the small of her back, and Richard noticed that he was clearly flirting with her which caused a sudden pang of jealousy to shoot through him. 

_“This is my friend Richard, by the way”_ She turned and grabbed his arm, pulling him against the side of her body and smiled up at him, hoping to ease the awkwardness that was starting to build. 

_“Oh no way! Hey there Rich, welcome to The Bell”_ he shook his hand obviously recognizing him from something or other.

_“Ok, so why don’t we start off with a pint?”_ Layla cut in, putting her hand on Richard’s shoulder trying to break the weird man tension that she was sensing. 

_“Yes, sounds great,”_ He said, smiling as the owner popped back behind the bar to grab their drinks. 

Beers in hand, they found a table over by the window and sat down. Even though she already had a feeling behind the real reason, Layla couldn’t help pointing to Richard’s chin.

_“So, what’s going on there hmm?”_

_“Oh, I just thought it was time for a bit of a change, you know..plus summer is right around the corner.”_ Richard said twitching in slight embarrassment and trying to sound as nonchalant as he could. _“So tell me more about Bolivia…”_ he quickly added in attempts to change the subject. 

Layla’s eyes lit up at his question, telling him that she loved it.They enthusiastically talk about their various travels, he managed to make her laugh, telling her about the time they had to take Viagra pills in order to cure their altitude sickness. The conversation was going smoothly, and for once, Richard found himself preferring to listening rather than be the one talking. Inside the charming and attractive girl he met at a party there was was an amazingly interesting woman. He never expected them to have so much in common. She told him that she was born in America but had grown up spending her summers in Italy, roaming around the countryside on her bicycle, exploring the woods near her grandparents home.They were soon chatting openingly about their old childhood dreams, exploring, seeing wild creatures in nature and being able to travel the world. 

Layla was pleasantly surprised by the fact that Richard was so relaxed in her company, she was making him laugh and joke while they continued to exchange and relive tales of their many adventures. The more she talked with Richard, the more she found herself falling for him, his enthusiasm and genuine personality where insanely attractive, not to mention the fact that they had a lot of similar experiences. Pretty soon the age gap between them was irrelevant, she felt almost like they had know each other for years.

They has been so wrapped up in their conversation and each other’s company that they hadn’t noticed two hours had passed. The wave of noisy people filling up the pub suddenly brought them back down to reality and somewhat spoiled the intimate atmosphere they had created around them. Layla had a trick up her sleeve and motioned for Richard to stand up. She grabbed his hand and crossed the crowded floor, bobbing and weaving between the pub goers. She leaned over the bar and asked the owner for the keys to the room downstairs where she knew there was a pool table and hopefully some quite. He informed her that it was reserved for a private party happening later that night. She continued to look at him and gave her best puppy dog eyes which eventually resulted in the keys being in her hand.

_“I need those back by 9:00 though…”_ he muttered with a huff watching Layla smile and walk off throwing him a thumbs up behind her back. 

Only when they had arrived at the bottom of the narrow staircase did Layla realize she was still holding Richard’s hand. The darkness and their unavoidable closeness reminded her of the closet and she instantly felt a wave of heat course through her body. Richard was experiencing the same emotions, getting dangerously close to her, softly brushing his lips on hers. It could hardly be classified as a kiss but it was enough to make her heart pant. 

_“We’re all out of drinks…”_ She managed to say and freed his hands from hers,”maybe bring me something a little stronger?”

_“As you wish sweetheart…”_ he replied, running his thumb on her lower lip before heading back upstairs, leaving her there silently smiling.

As Richard walked upstairs he couldn’t get rid of the smile that was plastered on his face. Layla was clearly into him, her voice and her accelerated breath as he lightly kissed her made him feel confident about the rest of the evening. He ordered Jameson for them both after remembering a post on her blog about her visiting the distillery when she was in Ireland and how it had become her favorite. Once he thought about it, Whiskey suited her, a little bit of spice mixed with enough sweetness causing a kick that made you need another sip. 

Layla sat on the edge of the pool table, waiting rather anxiously for Richard to return. Her legs were crossed, elbow on her knee and her chin was resting in her hand. She could only smile, thinking about how much she was really starting to like Richard but that thought was interrupted by his voice and footsteps coming down the old creaky stairs. 

_"Here we are, good ole fashioned Whiskey”_ he placed the glass in her hand and sat down a short distance away from her. 

_"Nice move, by the way, those puppy dog eyes."_ Richard said taking a sip and raised his eyebrow with a half smile.

_"Oh, whatever,”_ she laughed, _“I am a regular here so they do know me…”_

_"...and the owner fancies you quite a bit..."_ He finished her sentence, _“Can't blame the poor sod if I’m honest…”_

Layla smiled and looked down at her drink, flattered by the complement but wanted to change the subject away from a potentially awkward conversation. 

_"When I'm here I usually always end up playing pool, I find it's a nice distraction when I'm in the middle of writing. What about you, you play at all?"_ She asked and motioned her head at the table. 

_"I spent my school day’s skipping out on lessons in very similar rooms to this...you have no chance against me in a game."_

_"Oh I don't know about that. I'm pretty good at controlling the balls..."_ She said, turning her body towards Richard, biting the tip of her thumb.

_"And I've been told I handle my stick really well.."_ Richard said, slowly sliding his way closer to her across the wooden frame of the pool table.

_“Oh yeah? Prove it."_ She teased, dragging her finger down the length of his thigh. 

_“Ok, better yet, I'll wager a bet. You versus me. The winner gets a prize and everything..."_ Richard said as he lifted her chin, his teeth slightly biting his lower lip. 

_"Mmmm, sounds interesting"_ She replied just before Richard lips gently started to play with hers, their smiles mimicking each other’s.

__His soft, shaved skin was so different from last time, the scent of his aftershave, the wood and vanilla from the whiskey caused a small, suffocated moan to escape her lips. Her breath began to quicken as Richard's tongue teased, asking for full access but Layla soon regained her self control and pushed him back gently._ _

_"You have to earn that, mister..."_ she whispered, outlining the shape of his chest slowly with her finger. 

_“Ok..ok..fair enough.."_ Richard sighed as Layla grabbed the sticks from the wall. 

_"Sure you don't want skip to end where I beat you with a session to spare? I’m sure that would make us both equally happy..."_ Richard cheekily proposed while he racked the balls. 

_"Shhhh, prepare to lose Richard...and I guess, since you’re the oldest here, you shoot first..."_ She sarcastically replied, meticulously rubbing the chalk on her stick while smiling. 

_"Right...here we go. And, just for the record, you brought this on yourself Missy."_ Richard bent over the table, the stick sliding smoothly between his fingers, hitting the cue ball and scattering the balls all across the green with his break shot. 

Layla committed to the yellow balls since that color was the best option she had at a clear shot to the pocket, easily sinking it into the corner. The next shot was trickier and she walked around the table looking for the best angle. She pointed at the bank, lined up the shot and ended up missing it by only a couple of inches. Richard was quite impressed, it was a difficult shot and she handled it very well. 

_"Bad luck Darling..."_ he chuckled sweetly, approaching the table for his turn, taking a deep breath and going for the easiest shot he could nail with the reds. 

_"Oh yeah! Look at that!"_ He exclaimed, overly excited at his minor accomplishment. 

_"Oh come on!...my cat could have done that..."_ she joked back at him, smiling at his adorableness. 

_"Right...you watching this then?..."_ He lined up another shot, this time sending two balls into the pocket simultaneously. _"You see? Such a piece of cake..."_

Richard stretched far over the top of the table for his next move, sinking multiple balls with ease. Smugness trickled across his face as he looked over at Layla, walking around the table. He tucked her hair behind her ear and whispered rather directly into it. 

_"I can't wait to win my prize...I'm gonna end this game really quickly..."_ His lips gently tugged at her neck, making her whole body flush with heat and competitiveness. 

_"Enjoy that thought while you can, cause I'm about to wipe that cocky smile off your face."_ She reaffirmed, nudging him aside so he could continue with his next shot. 

He ended up missing his next shot and looked rather disappointed, glancing over at Layla. She took a long sip of whiskey, emptying the glass and and loudly clanked it down on the table. 

_"Time to play dirty huh?"_ And she was not joking. Layla managed to make up what Richard had accomplished in a blink of an eye, leaving him rather astonished. 

As he recovered from the shock of how well Layla had just done he walked up behind her and placed his hands on her waist. 

_"You are pretty good at handling that stick..."_ his hands stroking the bare skin above her skirt. 

_"Well, practice does make perfect"_ She replied, flipping around to face Richard, his hands still on the exposed skin from her crop top. 

_"Oh god..."_ Richard groaned in a low excited tone. 

_"Meaning, that I’ve play pool since I was seventeen you weirdo!"_ she laughed and rolled her eyes, spun back around and bent over the table, intentionally brushing his crotch all while managing to send another ball into its pocket. 

Her next shot was terribly unlucky, which gave Richard the chance to win. He nailed the last two shots but missed the winning ball within inches and his victory. 

_"Fuck."_ he muttered in frustration as Layla chalked her stick. 

She stared at her options, concentrating momentarily, and got right back into action. She sank her last ball straight away and with an amazing bank shot which ended up hitting the eight ball. After several bounces against multiple banks, it casually rolled right under Richard’s astonished eyes and into the corner pocket. Her eyes shot from the ball’s final resting place straight up to Richard and tried to not look smug as she placed the stick down and sat back down on the edge of the pool table. 

_"Oh damn...that’s some awfully bad luck mate..." _she said, grinning and watching as Richard walked over to her, messing with his hair.__

____

____

_"So...what's my prize then, huh?"_ Richard was right in front of her, so close their legs touched. She tugged slightly his tee shirt, drawing him in even closer. _"Is it another round of drinks...or..."_ Layla's voice cracked a little as Richard placed his hands on her legs. _"...did you have something else in mind?”_ She placed a hand on top of his, guiding him up her thigh. 

____

____

_"Something else..."_ Richard said quietly in a direct voice less than an inch from her lips. 

____

____

His kiss was deliberate and slow in order to make it known that he was the one in control. His drawn out actions caused Layla’s breathing to quicken and she tugged on his hair, hoping to urge him on deeper and faster. Richard moved his hands up to her torso until his thumbs slipped under the cup of her bra and began to softly stroke the sensitive skin underneath. Layla was instantly engulfed in coziness at his touch, her skin ignited by his fingertips. 

____

____

_"Are you comfortable with this this? Or should I just buy you another drink instead?”_ He broke the kiss to ask her, even though he was confident he knew the answer, part of him needed to hear her say that she wanted him. 

____

____

Layla smiled and pulled his face back onto hers, finding herself desperate to bury herself even further in his kiss. Richard managed to unclasp her bra and his hands found their way back around, his kiss intensified while he took care of her breasts. His hand covered her perfectly as he grabbed, massaged and pinched before going back for another handful, soon moving her top up slightly to take her in his mouth. Layla whimpered and arched against the feeling of his tongue and teeth playing with her nipples. Richard knew exactly what he was doing and his plan continued as he nibbled down to her stomach, making sure to plant soft kisses on her hip bone, lifting her up to remove her panties. 

__

__

_“Those only end up in the bloody way...”_ tossing them carelessly across the room. 

__

__

_“Richard, did you lock the door?..”_ the words breathlessly tumbled from her lips. 

__

__

Layla never got an answer due to his mouth becoming preoccupied with something other than talking. He was under her skirt now,and placed one of her legs over his shoulder and held the other, pushing it aside. He tenderly trailed kisses up and down, and flicked her sweet spot repeatedly before gradually increasing his vigor. His lips moved against her, his skin was so soft and smooth and his tongue, so hot and wet. It created an almost deadly combination for Layla, that is, until he dipped his fingers inside her. 

__

__

_“Holy Fuck…”,_ she threw her head back and sharply inhaled with every movement of his fingers, each time he made sure to sink a little deeper. 

__

__

He based his rhythm off of the sounds she was creating, breathless moans surrounded by whines begging for more. Richard was simply tormenting her, a pleasurable torture that she knew she needed more of. She reached down and tangled her fingers in his hair, pressing herself harder against hs mouth and after a few moments the sensations he was creating couldn’t be contained in a quiet way anymore. Layla’s moans were rapidly becoming louder and more erratic which caused Richard to crawl back up to her face while his fingers continued to pump her hard. 

__

__

_"You are so fucking hot babe..but just a bit loud for public...save me those moans for me when we are all alone..."_ He hushed her with a long and purposeful kiss, her muffled cries spilling across his lips as she bit the bottom of his. 

__

__

Layla was close to succumbing to Richard’s skillful fingers and his comment was only pushing her there faster. He noticed the change in her face and how her body began to slowly tense under his control. He cupped her face with his free hand, a naughty grin appeared on his face accompanied by heavy breaths in tune with Layla’s. 

__

__

_"I want look at you as you finish…”_ he hoarsely growled in her ear. 

__

__

She grabbed his shoulder and clenched the fabric of his shirt, being pulled into his intense stare. It was a form of intimacy that she had never experienced before but it was a strong and safe feeling that caused her to let go, allowing the convulsions to take over her whole body. 

__

__

_“Good girl.”_

__

__

Layla was breathless, shaking and unable to speak, still coming down from the shock of what she had received for winning. She expected Richard be good but nothing like what he had just proven to her. The mastery of his tongue and fingers, not to mention his voice when he spoke to her, left Layla more than satisfied. Richard helped her straighten back up on the table, a pleased smirk on his face as he tucked himself between her legs. 

__

__

_"I’ve never been so happy to lose a game before…."_ placing a kiss on her lips. 

__

__

He started to deepened the kiss once more and began to lose control of himself as she grabbed his belt loops and pulled him in closer. He put his hands on her hips and slowly began grinding against the bare skin between her thighs. The two of them melted effortlessly back into each other and it wasn’t until they heard the sound of the creaky steps and voices on the stairs that they stopped. 

__

__

They froze, panic stricken for second before bursting into laughter as they frantically scrambled to find Layla 's underwear. She spotted them them under a chair and managed to grab them, composing herself just before the door swung wide open. They were trying their best to act as normal as possible, casually leaning on the pool table like they has just ended a game. The owner was among the few people who had come down and the glances he was giving them made them think that he knew what game had actually been played. Richard, not being able to help himself, took Layla’s hand and walked to the door. 

__

__

_“That was one of the best game of pool I’ve had in my entire life Mate"_ he said, being cheeky and smacked him on the shoulder. 

__

__

Layla grinned and stifled a laugh as they began to climb up the stairs, stopping briefly to toss the keys down, shouting ‘Thank you!’ and found their way in the crisp evening breeze as quickly as they could. Fingers still laced with each other’s they simultaneously cracked up at the insanity of what they had just gotten away with. 

__

__

_"Bloody hell...I was so sure I had locked that door!"_ Richard chuckled and then sighed, stroking his chin, completely forgetting that he had shaved. When the giggles between them had subsided Richard suddenly pulled her into his arms. 

__

__

_“Anyway I could convince you to come over? Maybe for another round of prizes?”_

__

__

It took all of her willpower to not surrender to his incredibly tempting offer. She didn’t want to leave him, every molecule in her body seemed to now be addicted to his presence. 

__

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_“Ughhh, this is going to sounds like such a lame ass excuse but, I’m flying to Alaska at like six in the morning...and I haven’t packed yet because who likes to actually fucking pack ahead of ti--”_ She was cut off as Richard leaned down and simply kissed her. 

__

__

_“It’s ok Darling”_ he said smiling, _“Trust me, as a bit of a traveler myself, I know that’s not an excuse. Packing can be such a bitch sometimes.”_ He waved a cab down and opened the door for her. 

__

__

_"I’ll be home in a week though”_ she wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her into a deep hug, _“keep in touch Mister, don't you dare forget about me"_ she said, sliding into the backseat and closing the door behind her. 

__

__

Richard stood there for few minutes watching her cab head off into the night. He smiled at the ground as he walked over to his bike, there was no way in hell he would be able to forget about her. 

__

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__

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_**♪ ♫ “Mockingbird can't you see, little girl's got a hold on me like glue, Baby I'm howlin' for you” ♫♪** _

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Comments and kudos are always welcomed and great appreciated!


	3. The Couch

Richard’s eyes slowly fluttered open, blurring in and out of consciousness, the terrible pounding in his head let him know that he was alive despite the fact that he felt like complete death. Sunlight was streaming through the window obnoxiously brighter than normal and the birds appeared to be screaming rather than chirping. He rubbed his head as he sat up, letting out a painful groan as his body adjusted to being vertical. It took him a few moments to realize that he had awoken on the couch in the living room of his apartment. Slightly concerned by the fact he had no immediate recollection of what he was doing there and the fact that he was only wearing sweatpants, he got up from the couch, blanket and all, and walked into the kitchen. The overwhelming sensation of hunger he was experiencing was almost worse than the headache as he opened a box of cereal and began to shovel handfuls straight into his mouth.

He put a pot of coffee on and headed into the bathroom where he noticed he had acquired damage at some point during the night. The marks on his neck and chest were small, red and rather tender to his touch. Puzzled, he scratched at the scruff that was reappearing on his chin and headed back into the living room, all this standing was starting to take a toll on him. He laid back down and pulled the blanket over his head, trying his best to block out the sun but failing miserably as he remembered he had coffee waiting for him.

After a few heavenly sips, Richard suddenly remembered a conversation from the previous morning between him, James and Jeremy and he figured that starting at the beginning would be the best course of action to piecing together the rest of the day. The trio had been split up for a few days, filming various segments here and there and it was their first day back in the office. Their usual conversational jargon flowed out as they sat around the conference table with their coffee. It didn’t take long for jokes to get cracked, laughter filling the room quickly. With all the joking, personal matters always came up so Richard decided to bring up the topic of Layla, in hopes to beat James and Jeremy to the subject and avoid any further questioning. The pub and the extremely hands on game of pool was not something that he was ready to share with his best mates yet, not until he and Layla could fully wrap their heads around what it was that they were doing with each other. 

_“Blokes, I just gotta say that you two were absolutely correct, which is not something that I readily admit to...”_

_“Alright, what’s this about Rich?”_ James peered down over the top of his glasses and looked over at Richard.

_“Layla. Turns out I wasn’t as into it as I thought I was and now I have a nice fun story to add to my collection. The hot and heavy snog in the closet, it’s almost as good as the phonebox story.”_

_“Really? I’m quite impressed actually. You usually hold onto your mid-life crisis for much longer.”_ Jeremy noted, taking a long sip from his coffee mug. 

_“Nope, not this time. I’m over it and over her.”_ Richard continued, _“She was just a bit too much for me and thanks for not taking the piss outta me too much about it, I already feel a bit silly about the whole thing.”_

Never missing a beat and a perfectly set up opportunity, James and Jeremy erupted into simultaneous laughter. 

_“Well she was probably the one who actually got over it first you know...”_ James snorted at Richard’s poor attempt to avoid them mocking him. 

_“Yeah, I’m one hundred percent sure that she didn’t want to be seen dragging your old ass all over the place.”_ Jeremy added to James’ comment. 

_“Hey! You guys realize that you’re the oldest ones here right?!..No, she was just a bit too young, wild and a little superficial for me honestly.”_

_“Well, good for you Richard, for admitting your foolishness.”_ And just like that, the three men shook their heads in amusement and moved on to a different point of conversation.

Looking back, Richard regretted the things he had called Layla in the presence of James and Jeremy. He couldn’t agree less with that part of him that decided to speak so poorly of her. Glancing around his sun dabbled apartment, he could now recall the fact that James had been there, his company being sort of a distraction, and based on the number of empty beer bottles lying around, probably a rather good one. Richard knew that he usually got a bit loose lipped when he drank and for some reason he seemed to remember Layla’s name being mentioned a few times over the course of the night. She had returned to London from her week in Alaska, but due to filming schedules and editor deadlines, another week had gone by without him being able to see her.

Text conversations occurred daily between them but this only seemed to increased his desire to actually be in her presence, to hear and see her laugh instead of a brisk, “haha!” and a dumb emoji. They had finally found a day that they were both completely free and set an official date for dinner. He smiled at the notion that Layla wanted to do anything “official” with him and leaned over to place his mug on the coffee table, noticing the ashtray full of the butts of what looked like home rolled cigarettes piled high in it. As he leaned over further, the scent hit his nose and the the aroma of weed became very apparent throughout the apartment, saturated into the couch cushions and even his sweatpants. Richard’s head began to spin all over again, what on earth had he done last night and why did he have the overwhelming impression that Layla had somehow been a part of it all? 

He curled back up under the blanket and noticed his shirt was peeking out from under the couch. He couldn't remember taking it off and found it rather strange that he would since he hardly ever slept without one on. He picked it up, it was his army green tee shirt with the yellow star and it was a personal favorite of his as it contained a lot of great memories from Vietnam. Unbunching it he saw that there was a hole right on one of the points of the star, it looked like it had been burnt. He slowly moved his fingers across the charred edges of the hole, fuzzy memories started to flood his mind; her face, clouds of smoke, burning his shirt, discarding it on the floor...and then, nothing. He was desperate to put it all together so tucking the blanket around his shoulders he got back up and trasped throughout the living room, in search of more clues. 

The apartment was pretty spotless expect for the living room which was unfortunate for Richard’s clue quest. He couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary that would help him remember what he had done the previous night. He made his way into the foyer and noticed that the coat closet by the door was slightly ajar. He opened it fully and peered inside, not really knowing if there was anything he should be looking for. However, within seconds he realized that something was indeed missing. The hanger it hung on was empty, his prized Barbour Steve McQueen biker jacket was gone. He quickly stooped down, checking to see if it had somehow fallen to the floor. He jumped back up, now a little frantic, he loved that jacket, it was his most prized article of clothing, and he had no idea where it was. It was either the coffee kicking in or panic that was fuling his motivation to swiftly move about the apartment in search of the jacket. He hadn’t been in his bedroom yet so he decided to check it out, praying that for whatever strange reason he would find it in there. 

The room was dark, even after switching the lights on, so he threw open the blinds to allow for the light to aid him in his search. Turning back around to face the whole room he looked down at his bed and noticed a piece of paper, neatly folded on his pillow. Intrigued, he leaned over the mattress and grabbed the note, holding it close to his face in the light since he didn’t have his glasses with him. Two sentences, that’s all there was but it was enough for his face to flush as the memories, a mixture of stupidity and pleasure, from last night immediately flooded back. 

 

****

Layla’s week had been nothing short of stressful. She was asked if her Alaska trip could be published for a magazine feature, which had been a long time dream of hers. Amidst all the excitement she realized that she would have to go back and edit the post into a well polished magazine piece, which would add a couple more days onto her already well booked week. Ever since she had left Richard in that cab almost two weeks ago, she had wanted nothing more then to curl up in his arms and stop time, savouring the peace and quiet with this man who had somehow snuck into her life. Of course she was happy that they had been texting, but she always wanted more when it came to him, so when they decided on dinner for the following night, she was positively radiating with joyful anticipation. 

Her article was almost complete and she was just going over some last minute changes the editor had sent her. Pen in between her teeth, she found herself staring blankly at the clock on the wall, the abrupt chime of her phone snapped her back to reality. It was a text from Richard and she figured it was him telling her goodnight, as he had become accustomed to doing over the last couple of weeks. 

_**“I really need to see you..I just keep talking about you and we are having fun over here but you aren’t here so I think you need to be..”** _

She was slightly thrown off by his message, but she took the bait and replied right away. 

_**“I find it hard to believe that you could possibly be having that much fun without me lol”** _

_**“Oh soooo much fun but i need my pretty girl over here now.”** _

She could sense that something was off, but she continued on. 

_**“It’s kinda late lol and I would have to like actually put on shoes and find my keys and go out in the cold…there better be an amazing reason I'm doing this for you”** _

_**“PRETTY PLEASE.”** _

She decided that she needed a break from the article and, not knowing if Richard was in good hands, this seemed like a great excuse for her to get out and see him ahead of schedule, even for just a moment or two. 

_**“Haha be there in 30”** _

*****

Layla walked up to Richard’s front door and rang the doorbell, shivering a bit while she waited for a response. Her red flannel top and jeans were proving to be the wrong choice and she wished she had grabbed a jacket before leaving her place. A few moments later James opened the door and it all began to make sense. She realized that he had been the one texting her, pretending to be Richard, knowing that she would most likely come over if she thought it was him.

_“Hey James, long time no talk.”_ she placed her hands on her hips and gave him an indignant look, raising an eyebrow at him as he pulled her inside the foyer. 

_“Yeah, about that. You see, Hammond here is definitely a few joints in and he is not a usual consumer of weed so he’s kinda out of it. He wouldn’t shut up about you and needing to see you so it was either have you come over or I would’ve stabbed him to death…I mean Jesus, seriously girl, what have you done to that poor man?!”_ James whispered, rubbing his forehead and gave her a slight grin.

Layla returned James’ smile and simply shrugged her shoulders at his question knowing that he was just being a good friend to Richard and was happy that he did indeed get her to come over. 

_“There is nothing more that I can do, my contribution to the night went over quite well so now I think it’s your turn.”_ She nodded, accepting the challenge and turned to walk towards the living room but stopped suddenly as James grabbed her wrist. 

_“Take care of him Layla, he doesn't really know what he's gotten himself into…”_ he let her go and quietly slipped out of her front door. 

Wondering if James had meant to imply a double meaning with his last statement she continued into Richard’s living room and found him sitting with his legs criss crossed on the couch. 

_“Layla, sweetheart, What are you doing here?!?”_ He jumped up immediately and bounded towards her. 

He wrapped her in his arms around her, his words muffled as he buried his face into her neck. 

_"I missed you so much baby....you are literally the best, most amazing girl I've ever met... God damn, I want to kiss every inch of you.”_ He inhaled deeply, absorbing her presence into his body. _“You smell so good..."_

Layla could only giggle at his utter adorableness and the fact that she still hadn’t be able to get a word in. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was in a gorgeously disheveled state and there was just something very cozy and happy about his overall demeanor. He was incredibly stoned and it was insanely cute. Richard's lips moved onto her neck, his scruff pleasantly familiarizing itself with her skin once again. 

_"Mmhhhh....and you taste good as well.."_ he murmured while continuing to follow the line of her jaw until he arrived at her lips. 

Layla could hardly resist him, Richard’s hands teased her waist slowly, slightly pushing himself against her. His natural scent was subtle on his skin and it was rather different from their others encounters. No cologne or aftershave, just his pure musk, manly with just a hint of weed and beer, it was driving her absolutely insane. Almost as if no time had passed they fell right back into each other’s shape, filling all the empty space between them. Their rhythm was slow, yet heated, with long kisses and deep, drawn out breaths. Richard had moved his hands from Layla’s waist and had slid into the back pockets of her jeans, while she wrapped her arms around his neck. 

The gentle nature of the moment was soon gone as Layla began to moan at Richard’s tongue playing with hers. Their movements became much more frantic while the friction increased and their desires grew. Richard removed his hands from her pockets and grabbed her ass and simply lifted her up. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist as he moved over to the couch, sitting down and causing her to straddle him. The position was dangerous and Layla could sense herself close to losing control with him, and by what she could feel between her and the thin material of his sweatpants, Richard was heading in the same direction. She pulled her lips off of his and scooted off his lap, noticing how befuddled he looked at her sudden change of pace. 

_“Hey, don’t give me that face, I just got here and I don’t want you to think I’m unladylike or anything…”_

_“I would never. But I do fucking love your unladylike tendencies…”_

_“Oh whatever,”_ she grinned and blushed slightly, looking over at the coffee table and noticing a half empty bottle of beer. 

She reached across and grabbed it, taking a quick swig while Richard cocked an eyebrow at her, a tiny smile appeared in the corner of his mouth, the gears turning in his head.

_“Oh Layla, baby you definitely will need your own if you want to catch up with me.”_

She nibbled on the tip of her finger, her eyes dancing with thought as she looked at him and then back over the the coffee table. She placed the bottle back down and found herself the freshest joint, brought it up to her lips and breathed in deeply before handing it off to Richard who looked intrigued to say the least. She climbed back onto his lap and pressed her lips against his once more and as he willingly accepted she slowly blew the smoke into his mouth, causing him to groan and grab her face, keeping her there until she was done. 

_“Sorry Mister, I need you totally in control if you want what’s on the full menu..”_ She slid off, making sure to add a little grind into his crotch as she left him. 

As she made her way into the kitchen to help herself to a beer, she was happy that he couldn’t see her blushing and smiling like an idiot. Richard's head was slightly tilted back on the couch, giving Layla the perfect view of the shape of his neck. She also couldn’t help but notice his shirt, in the old days it probably was the right size for him, but now she could see the fabric was tightly stretched across his chest and shoulders. She relished the sight and took a long sip from the bottle, wondering if she should sit beside him or ignore the fact that he was not lucid and surrender to the part of her who just wanted to straddle his lap all night long. His face, that raised eyebrow and adorable smirk added with the fact that he was comfortably slouching on the couch clearly showing the content of his sweatpants made it that much harder for her to decide. 

Her willpower was stronger then she expected and despite the heat coursing through her veins she sat down next to him. Trying to sound more calm and collected than she really was she asked him if he had ever been to Alaska. She grabbed his attention with the subject and soon they were chatting about her trip, passing the joint to each other between sips of beer. Richard explained that Canada was the closest he had been to Alaska and told her about the time he was in a tent waiting for his idiot friends to rescue him. He was getting dangerously close to Layla as he complained about the experience and how those two bastards took more time than necessary to save him. He added how cold and alone he had been, snuggling up against her like a mistreated puppy. She raised her hand in order to reach out and give him a loving pet on his head when the joint they had been sharing tumbled out of his fingers and onto his shirt, burning the fabric when it made contact. 

_“No!”_ He jumped up off of the couch, _“Shit.This was my favorite shirt too…”_ he muttered as he grabbed the collar from behind his neck and quickly pulled it off to examine the burn up close.

_“Oh. Hello there…”_ Layla smirked, delighted at the sight of Richard standing in front of her in just a pair of sweatpants that left very little to the imagination.

Richard peered over at her as she stood up to join him, realizing what he had just done. Layla took the shirt out of his hands and tossed it on the couch behind them. She placed her hand on his shoulder and dragged her fingers softly down his chest, making her way over his abdomen and stopped at the waistband of his sweats. She twirled the drawstrings around her finger and pulled him closer to her. He folded his arms across his body which only highlighted how toned and strong he was. 

_“Well hang on a second...now this doesn’t seem fair at all…”_ he commented,… _“I think you need to take this off too…”_ He popped the top button of her flannel open, his finger lingered there at the start of her cleavage, her skin immediately tingled at his touch. 

She bit her lip at his suggestion an methodically began undoing the rest of the buttons, not wanting to play all her cards at once. Richard caressed her cheek, his skin cold against her flushed face. He tucked her hair behind her ear, her eyes looking up into his as he moved his hand down her hair and gently tugged at the tips. 

_“Any slower Darling and I’m going to have to rip it off of you…”_ he growled in her ear, his tone commanding and his hands moved back to her buttons.

She stopped what she was doing and removed his hands then when back and was purposefully slower than before, smiling at Richard’s impatience pout. He grabbed her belt loops and started to twist her hips back and forth, puppy dog eyes in full action. As soon as her top was undone, Richard did his best to yank in off of her body but somehow managed to get it stuck halfway down her arms. They laughed and it eventually joined Richard’s shirt on the cushion of the couch. Layla suddenly wished that she was wearing a slightly better bra but soon realized that Richard couldn’t have cared less. 

_“Ahhh, for fucks sake…”_ he groaned, taking a step back to look at her fully, _“you really are so goddamn beautiful.”_

Layla covered her smile with her hand and shook her head in embarrassment. She walked back up to him, his hand automatically reaching out for her waist and tucked her back in between his legs. 

_“Can we talk about you for a second…”_ she breathless grinned, tracing the outline of his bicep with her finger. _“Who gave you permission to be this attractive, huh?”_

_“I come from good breeding, babe.”_ he said matter of factually as she rolled her eyes at his charming ego. 

She instantly loved being completely engulfed by his bare skin, he was warm, soft and safe yet a little rough and mysterious, still needing to be unwrapped a bit more. As her eyes mapped out his chest, she noticed a small red mark on his pec, the joint must have burnt him after going through his shirt. She reached up and gently touched it causing him to flinch a little from the pain. He was feeling really good from all the weed and beer and hadn’t noticed the initial contact the joint had made with his skin. 

_“Now what kind of nurse would I be if I didn’t take care of that…”_ she insisted as she pushed him down onto the couch and settled herself back down on top of him. 

She blew on the burnt skin before softly kissing it, her tongue mixing with her lips, creating a electrifying sensation to pulse through his veins. Layla began to move up his chest away from the burn, sucking harder with her lips and nipping at the skin along his neck. Richard sighed deeply each time her lips pulled his sensitive skin and hoarsely growled when her teeth sent shock waves all the way down his body. He had one hand lost in her hair and the other was getting friendly with her breasts. Layla could feel the reaction she was causing to stir in his lap and came to the conclusion that she absolutely loved sweatpants. The stiffening between her thighs awoke her desire to grind against it. She rocked her hips up and down his growing length, knowing that the friction from her jeans was only adding to his pleasurable torment. 

_“Oh jesus....those lips…”_

_“How’s the burn baby? Is there anything else that I could kiss and make better?...”_ She knew what she was doing and she knew what he wanted, his face was practically begging her for it. 

Richard bit his lip as he watched her silently slide down to the floor and positioned herself between his legs. She placed her hand on his hardness and began to rub from his base all the way up to the tip, his mouth opening and closing slightly never breaking eye contact with her. Layla started to lean into his lap with every stroke up and down over the fabric and very quickly he needed more.

_“..Layla...go on sweetheart...please.”_ he groaned as she grabbed the waistband of his sweats and pulled them off of him. 

She slowly ran her hands back up his thighs, giving his erection on last tease before releasing it from his boxer briefs. Richard's voice cracked as he breathed out an "oh God", his chest lifting up and down rapidly as she closed her hand around it. She began to stroke him slowly, soon adding soft kisses at his base and dragged her tongue up the vein of his shaft, feeling it throb beneath the tip of her tongue. Once she reached the top, she let a bit of saliva fall onto his tip and then wrapped her lips around him, sucking deliberately slow, teasing him with pleasure.

Richards fingers ran through her hair, pushing it out of her face so he could enjoy the full view of what was happening, Layla bobbing up and down, her hand stroking to the same beat as her lips. When she moved further down he suddenly noticed the tattoo on her back, two koi carps circling around a compass. He was, however, enjoying the pleasant sensation of Layla 's tongue teasing his tip to keep his attention focused on her tattoo. Her sensational work was only causing him to want himself wrapped even deeper in the wet heat of her mouth. He grabbed a handful of her hair in his hands and held her head still while he gave her a few deliberate thrusts. Each time his cock hit the back of her throat she hoped that he would slide a bit further down, wanting to feel his whole, throbbing length. Despite the mouthful, her moans where quite obvious as he continued to pull her hair and thrust. Layla took charge once again and began massaging his balls, giving him a little taste of teeth as he slid his way out.

_"Fuck."_ he growled with deep pleasure, enjoying her shameless feistiness. 

His hold on her loosen, which allowed her to catch her breath before she got back to work with a quieter and more determined pace. With her tongue she focused on his base, nipping and licking her way up along his shaft until she took it, once again into warmth of her mouth. Richard was close to his breaking point, the beer and weed had heightened his senses, every flick and swirl of her tongue sent little shock waves through his veins, one hand still holding her hair back and the other clenching the frame of the couch. Layla's eyes were still locked on his, dark and beautiful, her blatant look of flirtatious innocence only increased his desire, she was clearly enjoying the whole situation, her mouth slightly curved in a smirk at the sound of his whispered groans. Richard was used to being the one in control, the one who set the rhythm of the action, but with Layla it was a different experience altogether. She was driving him absolutely mad, and he kind of loved it. 

_"Come on...baby...I want you to ride me.. right fucking now..."_ Richard hoarsely moaned, causing Layla to suddenly stop for a second, a hot flush spreading across her face as nerves of excitement tingled in her stomach. 

She had been tip toeing in the safe zone for the whole night, carefully trying to maintain herself control with him. She found that Richard, if it was even possible, was more attractive than he had been during their previous encounter.His powerful and persuasive abilities were beginning to take over and if she wasn’t careful she knew that she would willingly give in to whatever he wanted. She almost regretted not accepting his invitation after they had left the pub, they had such a lovely time together, she felt so comfortable with him and truly felt a connection which only made her want him more. She fought back the impulse to accept his request, despite the fact her whole body was begging her to reconsider. 

_"I know you want it sweetheart..."_ Richard added with cockiness, not missing a beat of hesitation. 

His tone only gave her more vigor and determination. Each time she took his length in her mouth she slid it down her throat and swallowed, allowing her muscles to contract around him and made sure to lock eyes with him every time she pulled him back out. 

_"God...You're so fucking good babe.."_ he growled and tightened the grip on her hair once again.

His back arched and he began to feel the tension grow throughout his body, his teeth tormenting his lower lip as the heat in his stomach was nearly to blow.

_"Goddammit...I'm so close darling..."_ Richard's voice cracked in anticipation as Layla’s rhythm quicken.

She began to slow down as his legs started tense along with his lower abdomen, gently assisting him to his eventual complete release. She kept her lips wrapped around him as he came, and continued sucking until the very last drop. His arms dropped to his sides, light headed and almost near to happily passing out. Layla’s tricks mixed with the alcohol and weed left Richard in a relaxed, heavenly state.

_“That’s my good girl.”_ Richard breathed out heavily, lips slightly parted as Layla sat back on her heels. 

_“Anything for you Mister.”_

She crawled back up on the couch, and Richard managed to lift his and reached out to her flushed face. He dragged his fingertips along the line of her jaw, looking at her with hazy eyes while his thumb stroked the lines under her swollen bottom lip. Layla was feeling high, and not necessarily from the few puffs of their joint, Richard's voice and intense stare had made her caused her to flush hot and get her head spinning. His touch while he circled his thumb on her lip was beginning to stir a sensation of want that she knew he could satisfy. As if sensing her needs,he leaned towards her and kissed her lips so slowly and softly she couldn’t help but shudder. She wanted more but at the same time she wanted to let him keep going on with his sweet and tender approach. 

 

Her hand climbed up his arm, going back for seconds on his bicep, until she reached his neck and pulled him towards her, leaning backwards against the arm of the couch. Richard's kiss deepened as he laid on top of her, and at this point she really didn’t care about the state they were in, nothing would have stopped her. Richard's hand found her breast and cupped it softly over the fabric of her bra, which coaxed a wimpered moan to escape her throat. 

 

_"God...Richard..."_ She breathed out as he squeezed a little tighter. 

_"Sorry babe, I’m so knackered….you actually destroyed me..."_ he whispered after a moment, burying his face in her neck. 

 

Layla giggled and slowly stroked his hair, and it wasn’t long before his breathing slowed down until it was quite obvious he had fallen asleep. She smiled and enjoyed his adorably innocent presence for a while before carefully sliding off the couch and placing a blanket over him. She grabbed her bag and gave him a last look as she headed towards the door. She suddenly realized how cold it actually was, it was so warm in his arms and she already missed his scent and the comfort she felt there. She peeked into the closet adjacent to the front door and his Barbour biker jacket immediately grabbed her attention. She put it on and immediately felt engulfed by Richard's presence. Feeling incredibly happy, Layla walked back in the living room looking for a piece of paper and pen to leave a quick note for him to find when he woke up. 

_**Pick me up at 6:00pm ---xoxo L**_  
_**((P.S. took a little something for the road))**_

Quietly shutting the door behind her, she started her journey home, a euphoric smile on her face the entire time.


	4. The date

It had been a rough morning, which had eventually turned into a rough afternoon for Richard following the events of the previous night. His head was feeling slightly better but a delicate pounding behind his temple mixed with an occasional spot of dizziness served as a reminder that he still needed to take things a bit slow. Luckily for him, the rest of his day consisted of paperwork and research, things that were easily accomplished with coffee and sitting down. However, across the office, James and Jeremy were a bit more active and were talking in hushed, yet brisk, tones about what had happened at Richard’s place. They couldn’t help but notice that he looked particularly more put together then usual and caught him smiling and chuckling to himself several times throughout the day. 

 

"So he straight up lied to us yesterday....that little evil bastard...." Jeremy said, his voice escalated as the list of profanities directed at Richard kept growing.

“Yes, he definitely lied, but...” James said, punching Jeremy in the arm and and giving him a slight glare, “we are kind of assholes so I can understand his reasoning for it.” 

“Oh alright, yes, yes we are. Do please continue James.” Jeremy was a little flustered by James suddenly defending Richard, it wasn’t something that they did very often for each other but it always came from a genuine place when they did.

“After a couple of beers and a few drags off the joint, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut about it, the closet, the fact they met up again, the daily texting while she is out of town...everything." 

"WHAT?!” Jeremy’s jaw basically hit the floor as he omitted a shocked bellow. 

"Ssshhh!’,” stammered James, “For crying out loud, do you want him to heard us and spoil all the fun?"

"Fun...What do you mean?"

"He has no idea that we know...he was so stoned last night and did you see him today? All fresh and fashionable, not to mention his constant dumb smile. You know he usually doesn’t give a toss about what he looks like at work. I'm pretty sure they're going to meet up tonight...I do believe we have the upper hand here." James noted while Jeremy's eyes sparkled at what he was suggesting. 

Meanwhile, in his office, Richard found himself being able to concentrate on the tasks in front of him, that is, until the vibrations of his phone and her name on the screen made him forget all about his deadlines and headache. 

“This is certainly a nice surprise” He cheerfully greeted her, spinning his chair around to look out the window. 

“So, good news!”

“I swear Layla, if you say Dacia or sandero....” he sarcastically muttered.

“What? What are you talking about?... I just found out some awesome news about work and I’m super excited!”

Richard smiled softly into the phone, it was a really nice change of pace being with someone who didn’t seem to know the television side of him and was oblivious to certain aspects of that life. It was just one of the many reasons he felt so comfortable and authentic with Layla, he didn’t have to be anything other than just himself. 

“Oh, it’s nothing darling, nevermind. So, what’s the exciting news then?” 

“Well, I just got off of the phone with the magazine who published my Alaska trip and they offered me a monthly travel feature!”

“Layla that’s absolutely fantastic! I’m so happy for you!”

“Aw thanks,” she beamed through the phone, “So, they are sending me to Japan for my first article and I think I may actually die from excitement.” 

“Well they couldn’t have found a better person for it, honestly…” ……….

“I can’t wait to see you tonight. I’ve been thinking about it since I left you last night.” she giggled, hoping that didn’t sounds to clingy or desperate. 

“Yeah about that, why did you leave? I was awfully confused this morning.” 

“Well,I did have to finish writing my article...plus you literally passed out on me, and by the way, you are far too cute when you are asleep….”

“Oh my god,” he groaned in embarrassment, “I hope I wasn’t a complete ass…” he added after a small pause. 

“I enjoyed myself immensely last night because of your company and I hope you can say the same of me?” She asked with a hint of coyness in her voice.

“Oh, without any hesitation, love.”

Richard was too enthralled with talking to Layla that he failed to notice that James and Jeremy had relocated to the other side of the door and were now listening intently to their conversation. 

“Good. So tonight then?”

“I will be there, six o’clock sharp per your notes request. I know this great Italian place over by the Tower Bridge, Cantina Del Ponte. Oh, and wear something you can ride in.”

“Sounds intriguing, I can’t wait.” 

Jeremy and James silently snickered between themselves while Richard hung up the phone, thinking that it would be rather fun to inject a little revenge on him for lying and trying to keep his relationship a secret. They knew the time, they knew the place, now all they needed a plan. 

*****

Layla was running around her apartment, frantically trying to finish getting ready before Richard arrived.

“Seriously?! Why can I never find both shoes at the same time?!” she annoyingly exclaimed to no one except her cat who was on the couch, ignoring her current dilemma. 

She had been rather distracted that afternoon processing the new aspect of her job she had taken on. Layla usually so looked forward to her travel adventures, leaving her normal life for a while and immersing herself into completely new experiences. But then. Richard appeared in her life and now the thought of being away from him for ten days was twisting her heart with nerves. No man had ever had this much affect on her, especially when it came to her job, and she really didn’t want to spoil the fun they were having, even with her new work opportunity. 

The rumble of Richard's bike outside on her window announced his arrival. She somehow managed to find her other boot and did one last mirror check, grabbing her black shrug and through it over her cream silk cami and jeans. She gave her now sleeping cat a peck between the ears before dashing out the door and down the front steps. There he was, leaning against his motorcycle in the most causal and unintentionally sexy way imaginable. He was wearing a well worn brown leather jacket covered a maroon Henley, which she was becoming very fond of, and khaki pants that hugged him in all the right places. 

“You look so good...” she stated, as she cuddled up in his arms for a hug. 

“Thanks, I did just get a new order of formaldehyde shipped to me this morning so…”

“Oh my god, shut up!” she teasingly hit him on his shoulder as they both laughed at his self deprecating joke. 

 

“You are always just a gorgeous sight for sore eyes, you know that?” he said, pulling her back into his embrace, their noses sweetly stroked against each other’s. 

“I am sorry for last night sweetheart, I promise I’ll find a way to make it up to you…” He whispered hoarsely, his lips less than an inch from her smiling ones. 

Layla hands were playing with the hem of his jacket but soon moved down to his hips and climbed their way up over his Henley. Her palms lightly pressed on his toned chest while working their way up to his jawline.

“I’m sure you will…” She replied while her thumb lingered over his beard, feeling its scratchiness on her skin. 

The memories of the previous night were still fresh in her mind and she felt herself begin to tingle at the thought of what this evening might entail. She began to gently pull his face towards hers, impatient to feel the softness of his lips on hers once again.

“Look mum! He's the hamster!!”

A childish voice quickly interrupted their heated moment just before she had the opportunity to taste Richard's delicious lips and caused a small wave of flustered hatred to run through her body.

They automatically separated from each other in order for Richard to take a photo with the kid and his mom. Layla was really impressed at how genuinely good at interacting with children he was, despite the little disappointed huff he let escaped at the unexpected interruption, he smiled and kneeled down to look at the little boy and began to happily chat with him, however, a small crowd soon gathered. Richard politely waved and took a few more photos before handing a helmet to Layla with a sorry smile and threw a leg across his bike as she followed his lead. 

 

Layla found the ride to the restaurant very pleasant. The unusual sensation of being the passenger was soon gone, and she felt safe and comfortable. Her arms were wrapped around Richard's waist and she was glued to his back, feeling his own heat as they leaned together with the movement of the bike ad it snuck smoothly through traffic. Occasionally, when they were stopped waiting at a traffic light, Richard's hand moved on top of her and would softly stroke it. 

Cantina del Ponte was an Italian restaurant located right on the shores of the Thames, with an amazing view of the Tower Bridge. Richard chose it for two reasons, his love for Italian cuisine and the fact that Layla had told him of her Italian’s roots. The delicious food and it’s warm and comfortable location made it the perfect choice for their date. After they parked near the entrance, Richard stood for a moment, unable to take his eyes off of Layla, she was smoothing out her hair which had become a bit ruffled up by the helmet. He smiled at the thought at just how lucky he was at being able to enjoy the company of such an amazing girl. Layla soon noticed his glance and smiled back, as he quickly tied the helmets on the bike and wrapped her in his arms for the second time that night. 

He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, softly smiling while his thumb lingered on her cheek and the arm around her waist pulled her in closer. Since he had remembered everything that had happened the night before, he ached for her. Layla was so different from the others he been with and Richard had never been more enraptured by anyone. She was so fresh and passionate, smart and witty and the more time they spent together and more he desired to stay with her. This, added with her beautiful beauty was driving him crazy, his teeth were chewing his bottom lip, while he got lost in her dark eyes. He was moving forward to kiss her when bunch of young tourists walked towards them, almost running them over, yelling and laughing which broke the magic of the moment. 

Pretty soon the narrow road was filled with people, which gave the pair no choice but to move into the restaurant for a bit of quietness. Layla’s hand naturally slipped into his as they walked in, he lightly squeezed it and left a soft kiss on her temple before they followed the hostess to their table. Richard helped her out of her sweater, trying to resist the temptation to leave a trail of kisses along her neck as he gently pulled it off of her shoulders. She giggled and was pleasantly surprised at his little touch of chivalry. After they sat down it didn’t take long for their hands to find each other’s again. Their fingers became tangled and their eyes only broke apart for a moment to order wine and something small to start with. They informed their waiter to surprise them with the wine choice, finding it difficult to concentrate on anything but each other. When the server returned with their glasses and described the red he had brought them as bold and spicy, they couldn’t help but smirk at each other, ready for whatever the night might bring.

Richard and Layla’s evening was going very well, the atmosphere was relaxed but still passionate as the both of them were continuously lost in the other's eyes. Only when their second round of wine arrived did their hands separate for a moment, in order for Richard to congratulate Layla on her new job.

“Here’s to your great, new work opportunity sweetheart…”

As their glasses clinked together, the corner of her smile drooped with a hint of sadness and Richard couldn’t help but notice. He took her hand in his once again and began to softly caress her fingers. 

“Come on! It is great, isn't it? And you love Japan! I’m guessing those koi carps on your back are not a coincidence…”

“Oh, I adore Japan...but, you know, like I told you on the phone...it's all happening really fast…”

“Hey, don't worry. This is such a great chance for you and your career. You better not be thinking of giving it up for some old fool like me. We will figure out the schedules and the time apart. I consider it all part of the adventure that I get to experience with you.” Richard said before kiss her hand tenderly.

His soft lips moved down the sensitive skin of her wrist, causing Layla’s cheeks to flush and her breath to quicken from his touch. She couldn’t believe how understanding and sweet he was being with the whole situation. There had been plenty of times over the years when guys had not been willing to handle the distance. This pattern had caused a bit of timidness to develop within her, it helped to make sure she didn’t get too attached in order to avoid heartbreak. She had never fallen for someone as quickly as she had with Richard and it did scare her a little, but not in the way that she was use to.

The arrival of their appetizer interrupted the sweet moment and she quickly shifted back to her usual cheerfulness smiling and laughing along with the conversation. The food looked delicious, sadly though, they would not have the opportunity to taste it, thanks to the sudden appearance of two familiar shapes in the window. 

“What the hell?..”

“Oh god…I can’t believe those fucking bastards...”

Simultaneously the pair stood up and their eyes frantically searched for an escape. Richard grabbed Layla’s hand, dropped money on the table and pulled her quickly towards the kitchen which he discovered was the only reasonable way out. Jeremy and James had now entered the restaurant and were scanning the dining room, obviously looking for the two love birds.

“I swear James, you’ve lived in London for 600 years...how can you not know how to get over the stupid bridge?!” Jeremy exasperatedly exclaimed, clearly frustrated at James for getting them lost. 

“Well, Jeremy, if you hadn’t been distracting me with the plan for sabotaging their night out, maybe I wouldn’t have missed the turn….” He retorted and mumbled some colorful language under his breath as he turned away continuing his search. 

In the back of the restaurant Layla and Richard had run into a bit of an issue trying to leave out the back. After using her best innocent smile and not to mention a lot of direct eye contact, Layla had persuaded the workmen in the kitchen to let them use the service door. As they happily snuck around the cooks and servers who were almost too busy plating and running dishes to notice the pair, they couldn’t help but shout out that everyone was doing a fantastic job and that the food, they assumed, was absolutely wonderful. 

 

Richard and Layla scrambled through the service door and found themselves in a narrow back alley. They ran back to the main road and spotted his motorcycle only a few yards away and would have been able to get to it quite easily if it wasn’t for James, who was standing right in front of it, hands in jean’s pockets and a grin plastered across his face.

“For fuck’s sake…” Richard muttered between gritted teeth while joining Layla in a muffled laugh.

“Run.” She whispered and slipped her hand in his, laughing as they turned and began running down the sidewalk towards the bridge. 

“Wait, what!?” They could hear a confused James exclaim from behind them, he had clearly not expected them to take off like that. 

Jeremy appeared next to James and, despite their older age, the two of them managed to keep a good pace up behind Richard and Layla. All the years of smoking and nonexistent physical activity were nothing compared to the sheer will and determination they found within them in order to cause a little chaos at the expensive of their friend. 

Richard and Layla soon made it across the Tower Bridge hardly breaking a sweat and they both seemed pleasantly surprised and a little intrigued at the each other’s stamina. They rounded the corner to the left and slowed down, walking through the gardens of the Tower, happy to catch their breath for a moment. They were both smiling at their current situation, it was fun after all, and with their two chasers no long in sight they stopped momentarily to look out at the lights on the Thames. 

“Well I guess my secret is out then... I honestly haven’t seen those two run that much in my life”

“Oh, so what Mister? Are you ashamed to let people know that you hang out with me? Hmmm? Don’t want people to know just how much we enjoy each other’s company?...” She teased him as the romantic atmosphere mixed with the adrenaline in their veins beckoned them into each other’s arms once again. 

“Those two are just a pair of idiots, actually, they are worse than that, they’re assholes. I would shout about you from the rooftops if I knew that they wouldn’t get involved, and I’m scared of heights so you know that’s a pretty big deal...”

“You’d brave heights for me?! How’s a girl supposed to compete with that...” a smile broke across her face while their arms lingered around each other’s waists, their lips desperately fighting the urge for contact. 

However, the unmistakable sound of Jeremy’s voice in the distance made them jump apart as the eyed him and James gaining on their location. Almost as if they knew what the other was thinking, they began to run, reaching a bus within a few minutes. Richard paid the toll as Layla kept glancing behind for any sign of their pursuers. James and Jeremy arrived at the stop just moments after it had pulled back into the evening traffic. 

“Oh, for the love of god…” Jeremy cried out as he looked over at James who was panting, hands on his knees.

“James, get a cab”

“This was your bloody idea Jezza, you get the cab.” he ...as they watched the bus turn and disappear around the corner. 

Richard and Layla held onto each other for support as the the crowded bus bumped around, jostling them closer as they breathless giggled, recovering from their second round of running. She needed to kiss him, his spontaneous and robust energy was making it near impossible for her body to ignore the urge. Richard looked down and caught her staring up at him, the same desire was clearly on his mind. The inches between then where growing less and less but an unfortunate pothole caused an elderly lady to bump into Layla, pushing her aside. Richard grabbed her by the waist as she stumbled about and steadied her as he safely tucked her under his arm. When the bus pulled up to it’s next stop they took the opportunity to jump off, hoping they had put enough distance between them and Jeremy and James. 

They found themselves near the Millennium Bridge and thought it would be a good time to cross back to the southbank. As they slowly meandered over the water they stopped and leaned against the railing and looked at the lights reflecting on the river, taking the opportunity to cuddle up close to each other. 

 

“Looks like we are finally alone…” Layla softly commented on their surroundings. 

“ I'm sorry sweetheart, this wasn’t the kind of date I had in mind…” Richard started to apologize, his big brown eyes working overtime.

“It's funny...actually…” Layla tugged on his jacket, pulling him against her, “this is the best date I’ve ever been on” her words only a whisper as she draped her hands around his neck.

A happy little smirk appeared on his lips as he cocked an eyebrow and continued, “...the only thing that is annoying me is that something always manages to interrupt us right before…”

“Hey! Hammond!” a voice called Richard's name. 

“See? Like that.” He quietly groaned and turned turned towards the voice. 

Through the darkness he soon realized who the voice belonged to and a big smile spread across his face because it was Kiff, their production sound tech and one of his oldest friends. 

“I’ll catch up with you lot in a second!” He shouted back to a few blokes who continued to walk across the bridge.

“Enjoying your night are you?” Richard smiled as he shook his hand, realizing that he must be out with some friends. 

“Oh how could you not on a gorgeous summer evening like this!”

The two men instantly fell into work chat, gawking about the cars they would be using in a weeks time for a spot they were filming. Layla had never experienced Richard in work mode before and she found it incredibly sexy the way he spoke about his passion. The conversation broke for a moment and Richard realized that he hadn’t introduced Layla yet. 

“I have completely forgotten my manners, Kiff this is Layla, Layla this is Kiff.”

“A pleasure, my dear” he said, taking her hand in his and planting a quick kiss on it. 

“Whoa, you don’t have moves like that…” she joked, looking over at Richard for a second before turning her attention back to Kiff, “It’s very nice to meet you.” 

Richard chuckled as his arms absentmindedly slipped around Layla’s waist, his fingers resting through her belt loop as he brought her to his hip. Noticing the pair’s closeness, Kiff realized what it was that he was potentially interrupting he excused himself, wished them both a good evening and dashed to catch back up with his friends. Richard and Layla continued on their cozy walk across the river and soon found themselves back among the hustle and bustle of the south bank. Richard stopped and spun Layla out in front of him hoping to finally seal the night with a kiss. 

“Shit. Babe, over there…” She suddenly said as she rolled her eyes and motioned behind his back.

James and Jeremy were only a few hundred yards behind them, grinning as they rapidly approached. By some miracle Richard was able to hail a cab within seconds but was not quick enough in their escape plan because James and Jeremy had both managed to slide in at the last second. Without even thinking, Richard opened the other door and pulled Layla out with him making sure to tell the cabbie a location that was in the complete opposite direction they wanted to go as he slammed the door shut much to the astonished faces of his colleagues. The cab took off and Richard and Layla waved as the boys drove away from them, laughing and falling into each other’s arms as they continued their stroll alongside the Thames.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!  
> Comments and kudos are always welcomed and greatly appreciated!!


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